Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
(with usually at least one Red MP in office), a legacy of the Ottoman-era quasi-
feudalism, 1880s conflicts between small and large olive producers and further
disruption occasioned by the arrival of many refugees. Breeding livestock, especially
horses, remains important, and organic production has been embraced enthusiastically
as a way of making Lésvos's agricultural products more competitive.
Historically, the olive plantations, ouzo distilleries, animal husbandry and fishing
industry supported those who chose not to emigrate, but when these enterprises stalled
in the 1980s, tourism made appreciable inroads. However, it still accounts for less than
ten percent of the local economy: there are few large hotels outside the capital, Skála
Kalloní or Mólyvos, and visitor numbers have dropped noticeably in recent years,
except for a mini-boom in Turkish weekenders.
Brief history
In antiquity, Lésvos's importance lay in its artistic and commercial connections rather
than in historical events: being on the trade route to Asia Minor, it always attracted
merchants and became quite wealthy during Roman times . During the late fourteenth
century, Lésvos was given as a dowry to a Genoese prince of the Gattilusi clan
following his marriage to the sister of one of the last Byzantine emperors - it's from this
period that most of its castles remain. The first two centuries of Ottoman rule were
particularly harsh, with much of the Orthodox population sold into slavery or
deported to the imperial capital - replaced by more tractable Muslim colonists, who
populated even rural areas - and most physical evidence of the Genoese or Byzantine
period demolished. Out in the countryside, Turks and Greeks got along, relatively
speaking, right up until 1923; the Ottoman authorities favoured Greek kahayiádhes
(overseers) to keep the peons in line. However, large numbers of the lower social
classes, oppressed by the pashas and their Greek lackeys, fled across to Asia Minor
during the nineteenth century, only to return again after the exchange of populations.
ARRIVAL AND GETTING AROUND
LÉSVOS
By plane There are services (frequencies for June-Oct) to
Athens (5-7 daily; 50min-1hr); Híos (2 weekly, 30min);
Límnos (5 weekly; 30min); Rhodes (2 weekly; 1hr 40min);
Sámos (2 weekly; 45min-1hr 30min); Thessaloníki (1-2
daily; 55min-1hr 50min).
By ferry Despite the island's size, all ferries dock in
Mytilíni; there are connections to: Ayvalık (Turkey; May-
Oct daily, winter sporadic; 1hr 20min); Dikili (Turkey; May-
Oct daily, winter sporadic; 1hr 30min); Foça (Turkey;
May-Oct 4 weekly; 1hr); Híos (1-2 daily; 2-3hr); Ikaría (1
weekly; 7hr 30min); Kavála (2 weekly; 12hr); Límnos (6hr
30min); Pireás (1-2 daily; 8hr 30min-9hr); Sámos (2
weekly; 7hr); Thessaloníki (1 weekly; 14hr 30min).
Getting around Public buses run once or twice daily to
most major towns and resorts, but Lesvos' sheer size makes
day-trips from the capital impractical. Even with a car or
motorbike, it is better to choose a base and tour locally
from there.
Mytilíni Town
MYTILÍNI , the port and capital, sprawls between and around two bays divided by a fortified
promontory, and in Greek fashion often doubles as the name of the island. Many visitors
are put of by the combination of urban bustle and, in the humbler northern districts,
slight seediness. However, several diversions, particularly the marketplace and a few
museums within a few minutes' walk of the waterfront, can occupy you for a few hours.
The fortress
Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm • €2
On the promontory sits the Byzantine-Genoese-Ottoman fortress , its mixed pedigree
reflected in the Ottoman inscription immediately above the Byzantine double eagle at
the southern outer gate. Inside you can make out the variably preserved ruins of the
Gattilusi palace, a Turkish medresse (Koranic academy), a dervish cell and a Byzantine
cistern. Just below the fortress, at Tsamákia , is the mediocre, fee-entry town “beach”.
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search